The hardest task of all
by Jack The Bard
Summary: Jarlaxle made Artemis do something silly, and now must apologize for it. R&R, and don't burn.


**Ariel threatened to hit me with her almighty Drizzt plushy if I didn't write this... someone keep the crazy lady away... T.T**

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Jarlaxle sat beneath a towering oak tree in a field of daisies, violets, bluebonnets, paintbrushes, and various other wildflowers. The enchanted flute from Yata, a new aquisition, sat in his hand, enticing him to make the bees drifting about to do silly things. The sweet scents of the flowers drifted into the seated drow's nostrils, amplified by the threatening rain. He could clearly pick out the sweet scent of the violets, even though the flowers were a hundred feet away, though their striking violet hue still visible. Jarlaxle idly placed fallen acorns into the various holes on the smooth, wooden flute, then tipped the flute and made them fall out.

He felt miserable.

Not too long ago, he had enchanted Artemis Entreri with said flute, causing him to sing in the Muddy Boots and Bloody Blades tavern, a particularly insulting ballad, to orcs, at least. When some of the half-orc patrons in the room stood up to beat the singing human into a pulp, the dark elf had to cast a second spell to pacify them. Jarlaxle frowned as he recalled the insane human attempting to caber toss the barkeep.

He began to stand up when a voice called from the other side of the tree, "you going somewhere, Jarlaxle?"

The drow slouched back down into the trunk of the tree. It was Entreri.

The rain began to fall. First, a single drop landing with a soft _plip_ onto one of the uppermost leaves, then descended from leaf to leaf until it landed into one of the holes in the flute that Jarlaxle still held, then there was more.

"I recall everything as clearly as day." the assassin spoke from the other side of the tree trunk.

Jarlaxle's head fell with a resounding _thunk_ onto the tree trunk, then looked back at the flute. Another raindrop fell on it. Or was it a tear? Jarlaxle cried, sobs wracking his body, his tears became a stream like a waterfall, and his eyepatch became soaked. An incomprehensible sob choked out of his mouth, and Entreri turned to him.

"What?"

"I'm sorry..." the rest was far too quiet.

"Calm down and say it again." the assassin, now in the branches looking down upon his friend, said.The sweet-smelling rain fell into a single song of pitter-patters.

Jarlaxle's sobs ceased for a second, he gasped, and his breath came heavily. The words finally came, when Entreri's cloak was soaked with the sweet-tasting rainwater: "I'm sorry for what both this flute and I did to you. Please forgive me... please forgive..." the words gave way to sheer quietness once more.

Entreri dropped down from his perch, and strode over to the crying drow. He sat next to his hysterical partner, and wrapped an arm around him, pulling Jarlaxle close. "All is forgiven, my friend."

Jarlaxle stood up and marched into the rain. He was out of sight in a few seconds, but Entreri looked up a little while later to see the drow bending over, a wet daisy in his hand extended to the assassin. Jarlaxle's face was still streaked with tears, but he smiled a little bit now.

The drow sat down once more, and withdrew Yata's flute from his pocket. Entreri flinched a little bit, but stopped when his partner played the flute not toward Entreri, but instead, directed the magical music to the bees still within the field.

They stopped, as if stunned, then began to dance.

Joy poured from the holes in the flute and mixed with the music to cast the spell upon the insects. Jarlaxle did not cast the spell upon Entreri, but for Entreri. A further apology was needed.The bees swirled around one another, then formed a chain, then a single ring. Entreri watched as a single swallowtail butterfly rose up into the ring. The bees and butterfly stopped, all of a sudden, then dissipated away to what they were doing before the dark elf struck them with the spell from Idalia's flute.

The assassin Entreri, formerly a heartless individual with not a care in the world but for profit and the annihilation of Drizzt Do'Urden, now smiled, and rested with his friend under the tree, listening to the glorious song of the rain.

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**Ha! I took your challenge and answered it within a day, Ariel! I have conquered!!!!**


End file.
